Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have broken endless scoring records, but neither can match the goals-per-game efficiency of Bayern München’s hero of the 1970s, Gerd Müller. UEFA.com keeps track of the UEFA club competitions’ most effective marksmen.
NB: Only players who have featured in 20 or more matches in the competitions are included in these lists
Top goals per game averages in UEFA Champions League/European Champion Clubs’ Cup
0.97: Gerd Müller (Bayern München) – 34 goals in 35 games
0.86: José Altafini (Milan, Juventus) – 24 goals in 28 games
0.85: Ferenc Puskás (Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid) – 35 goals in 41 games
0.84: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) – 49 goals in 58 games
0.82: José Águas (Benfica) – 18 goals in 22 games
0.84: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 93 goals in 111 games
0.76: Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille, AC Milan) – 28 goals in 37 games
0.75: Eusébio (Benfica) – 47 goals in 63 games
0.74: Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV, Manchester United, Real Madrid) – 60 goals in 81 games
0.70: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid) – 96 in 137 games
Top goals per game averages in UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup
1.10: Jupp Heynckes (Borussia Mönchengladbach) – 23 goals in 21 games
1.00: Darko Kovačević (Crvena zvezda, Real Sociedad, Juventus, Olympiacos) – 20 goals in 20 games
0.94: Radamel Falcao (Porto, Atlético) – 31 goals in 33 games
0.81: Dieter Müller (Köln, Stuttgart, Bordeaux) – 29 goals in 36 games
0.76: Ruud Geels (Club Brugge, Ajax, PSV) – 16 goals in 21 games
0.76: Anthony Yeboah (Eintracht, Leeds, Hamburg) – 16 goals in 21 games
0.75: Alan (Salzburg) – 18 goals in 24 games
0.75: Torbjörn Nilsson (IFK Göteborg, Kaiserslautern) – 18 goals in 24 games
0.73: Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) – 24 goals in 33 games
0.73: Allan Simonsen (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Barcelona) – 19 goals in 26 games
Top goals per game averages in all UEFA club competitions*
0.89: Radamel Falcao (Porto, Atlético, Monaco) – 42 goals in 47 games
0.87: Gerd Müller (Bayern München) – 62 goals in 71 games
0.86: Stéphane Guivarc’h (Auxerre, Rennes, Newcastle) – 24 goals in 28 games
0.86: Ferenc Puskás (Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid) – 37 goals in 43 games
0.83: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 96 goals in 115 games
0.83: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) – 50 goals in 60 games
0.82: Ivan Mráz (Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Praha, Dukla Praha) – 18 goals in 22 games
0.82: Jupp Heynckes (Borussia Mönchengladbach) – 45 goals in 55 games
0.80: Kees Kist (AZ Alkmaar, Paris Saint-Germain) – 20 goals in 25 games
0.80: Denis Law (Manchester United) – 20 goals in 25 games
0.80: Kevin Hector (Derby County) – 16 goals in 20 games
Top goals per game averages in EURO games**
0.91: Davor Šuker (Croatia) – 20 goals in 22 games
0.79: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands) – 19 goals in 24 games
0.78: David Villa (Spain) – 18 goals in 23 games
0.75: Toni Polster (Austria) – 15 goals in 20 games
0.71: Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark) – 22 goals in 31 games
0.70: Raúl González (Spain) – 19 goals in 27 games
0.67: Thierry Henry (France) – 18 goals in 27 games
0.67: Marco van Basten (Netherlands) – 16 goals in 24 games
0.65: Shota Arveladze (Georgia) – 17 goals in 26 games
0.64: Filippo Inzaghi (Italy) – 14 goals in 22 games
* UEFA club competitions = UEFA Champions League/European Champion Clubs’ Cup, UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup, European/South American Cup
Several players scored at a higher rate but did not play enough games to meet UEFA.com’s criteria, most notably:
UEFA Champions League/European Champion Clubs’ Cup
1.10: Claudio Sulser (Grasshoppers) – 11 goals in 10 games
1.08: Denis Viollet (Manchester United) – 13 goals in 12 games
1.00: Torbjörn Nilsson (IFK Göteborg) – 14 goals in 14 games
All UEFA club competitions
0.94: Georgi Asparuhov (Botev Plovdiv, Levski Sofia) – 17 goals in 18 games
0.94: Kiril Milanov (Levski Sofia) – 17 goals in 18 games
0.89: Borivoje Kostić (Crvena zvezda) – 17 goals in 19 games
** Qualifiers and finals games
A number of players scored at a higher rate than Šuker but did not play enough competitive senior internationals to meet UEFA.com’s criteria, most notably:
1.33: Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 16 goals in 12 games
1.00: Michel Platini (France) – 10 goals in 10 games
0.92: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) – 12 goals in 13 games
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